Compiled by Adam Fornear
Adam Fornear is a perfect 10!
With the cold evenings becoming the new norm as of late, our small lakes around Duluth have started to freeze over, giving us some more solid surface to explore. You could do this by foot, or take to the ice on Nordic skates like I did last weekend on Eagle Lake. There’s always this small window of time to get out and ice skate on the lakes in my neck of the woods. The lakes finally freeze over and before the next accumulating snow arrives you can get out and glide over the frozen waters.
There’s a sense of adventure going out on the first ice of the season. You bring ski poles (to help you go faster/better workout and as a rescue tool in case your friend falls in) and a lifejacket (the ice is only 2-4 inches thick). Every so often, the groaning and cracking noises the ice makes underfoot cause you to cringe. Thankfully, my childhood winters were spent ice fishing, so I feel comfortable with the difference between good ice sounds and the less good, ice-deterioration sounds. Back to the skating…It was a beautiful morning. No wind, snow falling from the sky and not another soul on the lake. Just two good friends who enjoy a skate just as much as I do. The skates were on and soon we were doing laps around the 20-acre lake, laughing, conversing and just enjoying the splendor of the newly frozen water. There were frozen otter tracks in the ice, you could see some weeds through the clear ice and a couple of small flocks of song birds passing by searching for their next meal.
As the morning went on, so did the accumulation of the snow. A few hours later, the window closed for the season of skating on Eagle Lake. While it was brief, just a morning or so, it was great. Time to wait for the larger lakes to freeze up and hit that next window of frozen lake skating.
I would love to hear from all of you via email ([email protected]. Send me some news about yourself, your kids or your friends and I will make them famous in our newsletter…Promise (send a picture too). I’d love to hear about any of your mini adventures as well. Get outside and enjoy our great outdoors!
IT MAY INTERESTE YOU TO KNOW that Josh Marcus (Chicago) has started two new clubs at his school, the Spanish Club and Investment Club. Trevor Harriman (Naperville) started a legit shaved ice dessert trailer in Naperville this summer with his sister and parents. Sno Problems Shaved Ice was a hit, so be sure to hit it up next summer!
Contrary to what it looks like in the 2019 Specialist photo, Sophia and Eli are not expecting a giant pinecone child anytime soon
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Jill Kiersky Marcus (Chicago ’89-‘95) started a new job as Assistant Professor, Family Medicine at Rush University in Chicago. Kim Swenson (Superior, WI/Hong Kong ’89-’97, ‘01) is the Communications Lead, in Corporate Real Estate, Hong Kong at HSBC.
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE RECENT ENGAGEMENTS to Maggie Horvath (St. Paul/Boston ’10-’11,’15) and Alex Stone (Boston).
WEDDING CONGRATULATIONS go to Elijah Fromm (Kansas City/New Haven, CT ’06-’10,’12-’15,’17-‘19) and Sophia Gatzionis (Greece/New Haven, CT ‘19).
IN THE BIBS AND DIAPERS DEPARTMENT: It’s a boy, Max, for Brian Neil (Denver ’95-’00,’02-‘04) and Jessica Neil (Denver). It’s twins(!), Jennie Mitchell and Quinn Natalie, for Daniel Abrams (Deerfield ’99-’05,’07-’08) and Rhonda Abrams (Deerfield).
BAR MITZVAH CONGRATULATIONS go to Ben Laytin (Chicago) and Aaron Levi (San Francisco).