Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. (Past hosts include: Our first - Judd Corizan, Mr. L, Kwizgiver and Bud) Cheers to all of us thieves!
Excerpted from for Ty and Logan
1. Where did your name come from?
Lola is a pseudonym. My real name....not gonna say, but my first name is a combination of my Mom’s real mother’s name, and the woman who adopted her.
2. Where were you born?
I was born in Milwaukee, WI.
3. What as your house like, growing up?
The house I grew up in my parents had built in a new subdivision. It was the 2nd house built, a 3 bedroom ranch. Living room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath and a 1/2 bath. Full basement that my Dad had started to make 1/2 into a rec room with a bar and a ping pong table.
4. What was your childhood bedroom like?
I had my own bedroom. It was at the back of the house and got no sunlight. It was dark and dreary. Somehow I campaigned to switch rooms with my parents. I got the Master Bedroom with 2 closets. My Mom used the 2nd closet. I had a full size bed. My sister had the small bedroom with a twin bed.
5. Did you travel as a child? Where?
My Dad was a staycation guy. His vacations he puttered in the garage or did maintenance on the house and yard. One year we took a day trip to Chicago to visit my Dad’s Aunt who was 99 years old. I can’t recall the area of Chicago she lived in, but it was a bungalow, and judging by how long it took to get there, I’d say it was the north side of Chicago. I know this because I moved to Chicago when I was 26 and I lived for 17 years on the north side of Chicago.
6. Write about your grandparents?
My Dad’s parents passed away long before I was born. I only knew my Mom’s stepmom as grandma. My Mom’s biological dad married again after my Mom was born. My Mom’s biological Mom died during her birth. The woman I knew as grandma refused to welcome my Mom and her 3 sisters into the new family. My Mom was adopted and the 3 sisters lived in an orphanage. The woman I knew as grandma never treated my Mom and her sisters like her “blood” children. For that matter she never treated my sister and I, or my 2 cousins as “blood” grandchildren. It was blatantly obvious at Christmas time. The “blood” grandchildren were showered with a lot of expensive gifts. Myself, my sister, and cousins got one cheap gift each. My sister and I did go on a weeklong trip to Disney World with 1 cousin, grandma, and 1 of her daughters. I’m sure my Mom contributed more than she could afford so we could go on that one trip. The other grandchildren went to Disney World and Italy every year.
7. Who taught you how to drive?
My Dad taught me how to drive. He did not give me my first lesson in his car until after I had one session of behind the wheel in high school. I nearly sideswiped the car parked next to me because the asshat who drove the car before me cranked the wheel all the way to the left. Never having been in a driver’s seat before I had no idea.
8. When did you first leave home?
I left home at 27 to move to Chicago.
9. What did your parents do for work?
My Dad worked for AC Spark Plug, Delco, AC Delco. It was the same location. General Motors changed the name a few times. When catalytic converters came to be, they were made at that plant. I have a catalytic converter ashtray that is a treasured possession of mine that my Dad was given and used by him. My Mom was a stay at home Mom. My Dad had 3 back surgeries. My Mom got a job at a nursing home after one of the surgeries. My poor Mom. She had a heart of gold. I think a little bit of her died inside that one day she worked. That nursing home was a horrible place. The residents were not taken care of very well and a lot of them had terrible bed sores. The place was short staffed, but that’s no excuse. My Mom came home in tears and couldn’t bring herself to go back.
10. Who inspired you as you matured?
Definitely my Mom. I watched her cook every meal and when I was little and on break from school I watched her do the laundry with a wringer washing machine, and watched her do all the housework. As I think back on it now I must have drove my Mom nuts, ALWAYS being around. I rode my bike in the summers and played with the neighbor kids, but I was always around when I wasn’t doing those things, or going to the pond with the neighbor kids to ice skate in the winters. Payback’s a b***, cuz my kids are exactly the same! They couldn’t ride bikes unsupervised, or do any of the things I did because we lived in Chicago and it wasn’t safe like when I was a kid.
11. What was the best part of your 20’s?
They didn’t start good, with my Mom passing away when I was 23. But moving to Chicago, I think that was the best. My 2nd apartment was just west of Wrigleyville and very close to the L tracks. A friend and I went to see The Grateful Dead at Soldier Field.
12. What as the best part of your 30s?
The best part of my 30’s was having my daughter and son.
13. Where is the most fascinating place you’ve visited?
I don’t know that I’d call it the most fascinating, but probably the camping trips to Galena. I lead quite a dull life, as far as travel and vacations go.
14. What is your favorite family story?
Probably my son’s first Christmas. I took both kids to Marshall Field’s in downtown Chicago for photos with Santa. Santa was rushed, no time was spent asking my daughter what she wanted (she was old enough to respond.) Bad very expensive photos were taken. I was really upset by the way my kids were plopped on Santa’s lap, photo snapped, handoff back to me. Anyone who knows me, knows that if I have a bad experience in a store, or get a bad product, I don’t let it go. I drafted a long letter and emailed it to the Director of Public Relations, and someone else at Marshall Field’s. I got a call the next day apologizing and offering me a refund, and a do over at no charge. I declined to go back downtown because I couldn’t take off work again and it was such a hassle getting the kids there by myself in the first place. I was asked if they could send their best Santa to my house. We were having a party the next day, the PR person checked that Santa’s schedule and called me back to say he could make my party and would spend about an hour at my house. She wanted to make sure we got a proper “Marshall Field’s experience”. I could take as many photos as I wanted and all of my guests were welcome to take photos with Santa too. It worked out beautifully and that really was the best Santa.
15. What was your most memorable birthday?
My 50th birthday. (July.) It was so hot out and no pool, so I bought a lawn sprinkler, beer, wine coolers, and invited some friends over. We ran through the sprinkler like little kids. The guests who wouldn’t participate got chased by another guest with the garden hose and got soaked...it was a 50th Birthday Wet T-Shirt Contest. Lol!
18. What was your favorite food as a child?
Bracciole. It’s an Italian dish. Skirt steak pounded thin, stuffed, rolled, tied, browned, then cooked in my Mom’s homemade sauce. My kids love it too. Maybe when the lockdown at my daughter’s group home ends we’ll celebrate and I’ll make it and have them watch so they can learn how to make it like I did.
Lola’s Diner cc. 2008-2020
