Author: Ron Stempkowski
The Ghost of Remington House
My parents bought a Baptist Church when I was one to rehab it into our family home in the early 1970s. Growing up–upon hearing we lived in a former church–people always remarked about how... Read More
Dear, Diary…
When I’m in the mood or just when I run across them on the shelf in my bedroom, I love to pull out one of my old diaries and read a few entries. It’s a portal to a different time. A different me. ... Read More
The Special of Today
Today is my sister’s birthday. It always has been. As long as I’ve been on earth. It was the first thing I thought of today when I looked at the date on the calendar to medicate my dog Kal... Read More
Peter Comes Home with a Secret: A Story of Christmas, Coffee and Coming Out
Back in the days of only three broadcast networks, no one was in as big a rush as they are today. Commercials seemed epically long and some of them were like mini serials. Remember the Taster’s... Read More
5 Years of “The Xanax Diary”
It seems like I’ve always had this blog; that it has always been here to engage me and calm me and focus me and distract me. But I haven’t. I’ve always written for those reasons, bu... Read More
The Club No One Wants to Belong To
I’m lucky in that I only go downtown to work in my company’s office once or twice a week—or sometimes not at all. I’ve worked from home for the better portion of the last ten years. (I can’t... Read More
Running for Chocolate
The Hot Chocolate 5k is the biggest race I’ve ever done—by far. I had my doubts about running in November in Chicago. But as Halloween gets packed up and put away and Thanksgiving and Christmas be... Read More
Exploring the 606
Living in a city like Chicago leaves a constant opportunity to explore new places and parts of the city–something I don’t do often enough. And something Ken was relentlessly good at remi... Read More