Focus on Libraries--Public, University, Presidential

Focus on Libraries—Public, University, Presidential.

My first experience with a public library happened at the Freemason Lodge in Santiago de Cuba, in Cuba, where my late father, Dr. Roberto Hung, J.D. used to meet with his Freemason brethren. While my father held the general meeting with the other Freemasons, I was asked to wait in the library. One of the elder Freemasons would select a book for me to read and browse while I waited for my father’s meeting to end, in the evening. I was the only child in the Lodge and the elder Freemason was kind to me. He would check on me, now and then, and would ask me, “Are you finished reading the book yet?” Since, I was not halfway through the book he had given me, I would answer, “Not yet”. So, the elder Freemason would say then, “our meeting is not done yet, either.” I found easier to wait while I read with a book in hand, browsing and reading along the pages and photo captions.


At home, my late father would often allow me to look at his books and browse through Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain. Then, as I became older, I could open his cherry wood barrister bookcase and find Shakespeare’s leather bound volume and turn the rice paper pages, as I read through Miranda’s adventure in the play, “The Tempest”. I became an avid reader.


While my mother was studying at Loyola University, Lewis Tower, in Chicago for her Master’s degree in Spanish literature, I would also wait for her at the library, looking through her Cervantes’ copy of Don Quixote and other Spanish literature anthologies that she would often allow me to keep with me while I waited for her, during evenings graduate courses.


I began to love public libraries at an early age. When I used to live in Chicago, my parents introduced me to the Logan Square Library on the Northwest side on weekends. There I would have my reading list, which my late father had suggested for me, and then I would select the books I could borrow to take home for two weeks. The back porch was one of my favorite reading spots and hideaways in the summer, overlooking Mrs. Palmer’s garden in the backyard. Our German landlady did not mind talking to me when she passed by me to go upstairs, since I used to help her carry her groceries and with her gardening.


During my Catholic high school years at Madonna High School, I spent all my study halls hours in the school library or at the Learning Resource Center. Then at Northeastern Illinois University, the library became one of my favorite hangouts, when I was not working as a student aide at the Financial Aid office or working another part-time job for college money.


At the University of Illinois at Chicago, I practically lived at the library when I became a graduate researcher and Illinois scholar sponsored by an Abraham Lincoln Fellowship grant studying rhetoric and historical speeches by famous rhetoricians like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Clarence Darrow, John F. Kennedy, and other famous presidential speakers and political figures. I also visited often the Chicago Tribune archives on Michigan Avenue researching historical background on the speeches and the speakers within the context of their times and events. Books and archives became my best and closest friends and allies while writing rhetorical criticism and historical ethnographies. The long hours, days, nights, and weekends spent on my own visiting Chicago public libraries, the Newberry library, and other university libraries have been all part of my love for libraries experience throughout my learning life.


U.S. Presidential libraries became all the more familiar to me when my late father donated funds to the Richard Nixon Library and the Ronald Reagan Library. Dr. Roberto Hung, J.D. has been acknowledged for helping and contributing to preserve U.S. Presidential history in the making.


While reading an article about U.S. Presidential libraries last Spring 2002, I read that until 1939, these did not exist nor were presidential documents preserved after the U.S. president left office—Home & Away, AAA Chicago Motor Club, Illinois/N. Indiana, March-April 2002. The first U.S. President to donate his presidential documents to the government was the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who also contributed 16 acres of his family estate in Hyde Park, New York, as a location to preserve U.S. government history.


In 1955, the U.S. Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act whereby it was established to maintain private and federally funded libraries for U.S. presidents to preserve their historical documents and memorabilia. Among current and existing U.S. Presidential libraries, we have:


The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum in West Branch, Iowa
The Truman Presidential Museum & Library in Independence, Missouri
The Eisenhower Library & Museum in Abilene, Kansas
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum at U of Texas in Austin, Texas
The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California
The Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum at the U of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Jimmy Carter Library & Museum in Atlanta, Georgia
The Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, near L.A. in Simi Valley, Calif.
The George Bush Presidential Library & Museum in College Station, Texas
The William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas
The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois


Last week, Tuesday, 19 November 2002, Springfield, Illinois inaugurated the Abraham Lincoln Library to preserve and study the former president’s historical documents, Civil War records, and Lincoln era memorabilia in the Prairie State where he lived from 1837 to 1861. Local news on TV featured Lincoln’s shiny copper plate profile made from copper Lincoln pennies, as well as the former president’s personal belongings, artifacts, sculptures, and presidential heirlooms collected and compiled over the years.


The life and times of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, will be researched and scrutinized as a sign of the American Civil War period. The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum is still under construction in downtown Springfield, Illinois—general completion is expected to be in 2004.
Before Abraham Lincoln became the 16th U.S. President, he was elected to the Illinois state legislature, studied law, and was licensed to practice in Sangamon County, Illinois. He had been also a deputy county surveyor in Petersburg in 1836. Prior to Lincoln’s life in Washington, D.C., he practiced law in Springfield with his partner William Herndon, from 1843 to 1852. The Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices is an Illinois State Historic Site in Springfield. As a lawyer, Abraham Lincoln practiced in the Eighth Judicial Court in Illinois—at the Mount Pulaski Courthouse State Historic Site, northeast of Springfield, and at the Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site, (1845-1857), 15 miles northeast of Peoria.


The 2001-2002 Illinois Handbook of Government features and highlights the Illinois State Library’s Internet portal, Find-It! Illinois, your best source of information for State library, education, and government introduced by the Secretary of State, Jesse White at http:/www.finditillinois.org The library network system links all the Friends of the Library in Illinois and nationwide.

Editor’s Notes by Gardenia C. Hung, M.A., B.A.
--2002 Friends of the Helen M. Plum Library Winter Newsletter

Feng Shui: Lotus Touts

Feng Shui

This is without a doubt one of the nicest good luck forwards I have received. Hope it works for you -- and me!

Lotus Touts: You have 6 minutes

There's some mighty fine advice in these words, even if you're not superstitious. This Lotus Touts has been sent to you for good luck from the Anthony Robbins organization. It has been sent around the world ten times so far.

Do not keep this message..

The Lotus Touts must leave your hands in 6 MINUTES. Otherwise you will get a very unpleasant surprise. This is true, even if you are not superstitious, agnostic, or otherwise faith impaired.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson..

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

Now, here's the FUN part!

Send this to at least 5 people and your life will improve.



1-4 people: Your life will improve slightly.

5-9 people: Your life will improve to your liking.

9-14 people: You will have at least 5 surprises in the next 3 weeks

15 and above: Your life will improve drastically and everything you ever dreamed of will begin to take shape.


A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

The Chicago Flower and Garden Show at Navy Pier hosted by Friends of the Parks

DATE: Friday, March 5, 2010
TIME: 7PM - 10PM
LOCATION: Navy Pier, Chicago Flower & Garden Show


Mark down Friday, March 5, 2010 in your calendar! We're thrilled to announce that the Chicago Flower & Garden Show organizers selected Friends of the Parks as one of the charities to benefit from the Mayor's Preview Party.

You'll enjoy a festive evening of global cuisine, cocktails and entertainment - plus a sneak peek of the 2010 Chicago Flower & Garden Show floor - at the "Evening in Bloom" preview benefit held before the show's official opening the next morning. The event always attracts a fun crowd.

The show features:

Lush theme garden displays
Garden market and home market exhibitors
New plant varieties exhibit
Super ideas for your home garden - whether you have a big backyard or a small container garden on your balcony!
When you purchase your tickets online, you will be asked to choose a charity you wish to support. Please check "Friends of the Parks" as your beneficiary! We will receive part of the proceeds from every ticket linked to a Friends of the Parks' supporter!! Log onto www.chicagoflower.com for more information.



Friends of the Parks
17 N. State Street
Chicago, Illinois 60602


Friends of the Parks | 17 N. State Street | Suite 1450 | Chicago | IL | 60602

Avon Products Inc.

Report for Stolen Avon Products Inc. Plastic Cosmetics Bag at 140 West St. Charles Road, Apt. 4B, Villa Park, Illinois 60181 on Monday, January 25, 2010 from the Avon Products Inc. box belonging to Gardenia C. Hung, DuPage resident in Illinois.

For the record, stolen Avon Products Inc. Pink and White Cosmetics Plastic Bag, Double Sided with Zippers, containing 24K Gold Lipstick, Gold and Silver Eyeliners, Miscellaneous Cosmetics Toiletries taken from the Avon Products Inc. box at 140 West St. Charles Road, Apt. 4B, in Villa Park, Illinois 60181, from the Avon Products Inc. box belonging to Gardenia C. Hung, Acct. 08817757, District 5543, on Monday, January 25, 2010.

Avon Products Inc., 181 Progress Place, Springdale, Ohio 45246, Tel. 513-551-2866. Avon Products Inc. has been refusing to ship orders for Campaigns 23 and 24 after Customers have made payments in advance for the Christmas holiday. In spite of the Avon Credit policy, the Avon Products were not shipped in time. During previous Avon orders, products were shipped by mistake, wrong garment size, different lingerie items, missing lingerie items, wrong sizes and unaccounted by the Avon Statement and Shipping List. To date, Avon Products Inc. has placed Campaigns 23 and 24 orders on hold for paying customers who have not received anything to date, when the customers have already paid for the Avon Products.

Customers are requesting Total Cash Reimbursement and/or Refund for not shipping the Avon Products ordered for Campaigns 23 and 24. Avon Products Inc. has received more than $533.03 in cash payments from customers already paid to date.

In addition, returned items to Avon Products Inc. have not been posted as returned, but rather missing.



Gardenia C. Hung, M.A., B.A.

Anniversary of The Star of Chicago Wedding on June 18, 1988

While I attended a Wedding Ceremony on Sunday, January 24, 2010, at Belverdere Events Banquet in Elk Grove, Illinois, I was recollecting my own wedding ceremony on June 18, 1988, twenty-two years ago aboard the Star of Chicago yacht on Lake Michigan. The Windy City hosted my wedding party when I married Nathan Scott Wittler Patriquin, former U.S. Navy Postal Clerk aboard the USS Platte stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, following the end of his U.S. Naval service. Nathan S. Wittler's parents, Reverend Melvin A. Wittler and Mrs. Nancy Wittler Patriquin, travelled from Istanbul, Turkey to the United States, and brought Christian missionaries with them, invited as guests, to include his brothers Brian Wittler, Ken Wittler, and sister Heather Wittler, from West Dummerston, Vermont, and Boston, Massachusetts, in New England. In addition, my father, Mr. Robert Hung, invited my Uncle Filiberto Hung and wife Mireya Hung Lee with my eldest cousin, Ana Mireya Hung Lee who travelled from Flushing, New York to attend the Wedding aboard the Star of Chicago. We had more than 50 wedding guests who included U.S. Navy David Patriquin and his wife Cynthia Patriquin, as well as my former French teacher Mrs. Francis Salvato and husband Frank Salvato, U.S. Air Force. Twenty-two years have passed, while I still remember all the restaurant dinners and wedding breakfasts along the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, by the Belmont Harbour, in Illinois, for my own wedding ceremony at Chicago City Hall.

Endangered Seniors: Amber Alert Program for Senior Citizens in 2010

New Laws in Illinois for 2010

With the beginning of a new year and new legislative session underway, I intend to periodically focus attention in my e-newsletter on new laws that have gone into effect here in Illinois. You may or may not be aware of changes in the law that could have an impact on you, your family or your community, and I hope to offer an explanation as to why these laws were enacted.

Amber Alert Program for Seniors

The first new law of interest establishes an Amber Alert Program for Senior Citizens and is legislation that I worked on last year with Senator Maggie Crotty and the Illinois State Police. Senate Bill 27, now Public Act #96-0149, helps locate elderly individuals who are missing.

The new Endangered Missing Person Advisory Program, commonly referred to as a “Silver Alert”, establishes a regional system which enhances the ability of local police agencies to rapidly transmit information regarding the older adult who is often afflicted with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia and places a high priority in reporting, investigation and public notification. These new efforts are similar to Amber Alert which has been successful in locating children who are believed to have been abducted and in danger. Unfortunately, we have all read about cases of seniors wandering from home, getting disoriented or losing their way while driving. A delayed search can result in the loss of valuable time to locate a missing person.

The Illinois Department on Aging in coordination with the Illinois State Police is developing a community outreach program to promote awareness among the State’s healthcare facilities, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other senior centers. The guidelines and procedures will ensure that specific health information about the missing person is not made public through the alert. State Police will determine whether the missing person is endangered or considered “high risk,” meaning circumstances indicate that the person may be at risk of injury or death. For more information about program services to assist older adults in Illinois and their caregivers, call the IDoA Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966.

In addition, another new law relating to the same topic is House Bill 282, now Public Act #96-0442, which adds to the definition of "missing endangered senior", a person with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias who is reported missing. It provides that the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board shall conduct training programs for law enforcement personnel to assist in finding missing seniors as the population with this disease increases.

Making Meaningful New Year's Resolutions in 2010 by Dr. Nancy Devereux, Licensed Psychologist

Greetings for the New Year 2010 in the 21st Century! When we start a New Year, we make New Resolutions. Dr. Nancy Devereux, Licensed Psychologist, advises how to Make Meaningful New Year's Resolutions:

* Make your goal specific. Be precise. For instance, I am going to find a new job while I am looking for employment.

* Make it positive and be proactive. That is to say, I am going to set up a job network and follow up on all job leads provided, even by word-of-mouth.

* Break it into do-able steps. Start applying for every single job posting or listing you can find, anywhere.

* Visualize it. Imagine yourself performing the goal and enjoying the results. You might even tack a photo or magazine cut-out of a representation of your goal to inspire you. Picture going through the job interview and getting the job you want.

* Enhance the commitment by writing it down. Write your goals specifically. Journaling can help with perserverance. Keep a detailed list of all your job leads, telephone calls, Emails, and appointments, online-job applications.

* Round up your team or your coaches. Tell close friends or family members your plans and enlist their support. Set up a job network, job alerts, job postings, newsletters, bulletins, etc.

* Arrange your surroundings to support your goal. Plan ahead. Set up a job search resource center for yourself.

* Allow time. Research indicates that habit formation takes about three weeks to replace a less ideal habit with a healthy one.

* If you "fall off" track, don't give up or give in. Read your commitment or plan again, forgive yourself, and give yourself credit for your hard work and persistence.

* Use small, "healthy" rewards to keep you going.

--From High Hopes Brain Support Group by Dr. Nancy Devereux, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Healthcare Center in Wheaton, Illinois USA