Joe Kenny

St. Valentine’s day is tomorrow and the stores have been loaded with greeting cards, decorations and heart shaped chocolates and gifts for our loved ones to know how much they mean to us. The best gift for the heart of our loved ones is the following video. Watch physician researchers Gordon A. Ewy, MD, and Karl Kern, MD, demonstrate the easy, life-saving method that they developed at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. They have come up with a new CPR proceedure that could mean the differece between life and death. Don’t you want the people you love to be around for many Valentines Day? It’s a good life.

Tuesday morning I received a text message from my cousin Mike who owns Gibbon’s-Ellison Funeral Home, asking me if I could use four tickets for that nights Bulls game against the Suns. The last time I was at a Bulls game was in the early 90’s when Michael Jordan was in his hay day so I felt I was long overdue for a game and graciously accepted the offer. I asked how much the tickets were and was told not to worry about it and just have a good time.

I made a few calls to some of my Bulls fan friends and within a short amount of time the plans were made and the tickets received. The tickets I found out later were the creme dela creme of tickets. Parking, food and drink were all included. Nothing to do here but sit back ,enjoy a good game and enjoy the company of my friend Tony of Fox Valley Excavating, his eight year old son Patrick and Chuck one of Tony’s drivers.

The value of these tickets for me wasn’t all the frills that came along with them but the reflecting on where I was and how I got there. I have done a couple of favors for Mike in the past and Tony has done favors for me as well. Money has never been an issue in any of these cases because we are friends and we look out for each other. I like to think that everything comes full circle. I do something for you, you do something for me and I then pay it forward to someone else.

Tony must have thanked me a dozen times throughout the course of the night. He plowed my driveway last winter when we were out of town during the blizzard and he is thanking me for some basketball tickets, wow! It is a good life.

When the first time home buyers tax credit came to an end in the spring of 2010 I was interested to see if the market would sustain it’s growth. 235 Hinsdale Single Family Homes were sold that year with an with an average sales price of $987,328 with 195 days of average market time.

2011 witnessed 220 Hinsdale Single Family Homes that were were sold for an average price of $986, 362 with 217 of avearge market time. On the surface it looks like the market is still on a slight decline but when you factor in that 2011 did not have the tax incentives of 2010 I believe this shows we are on the right track.

Now I know someone is reading this and thinking that I’ve lost my marbles because first time home buyers are not typically buying Hinsdale Single Family Homes with a million dollar price tag. When those first time buyers were buying homes in 2010 it allowed the move up buyers the leverage to move up. Now that’s what I call a good life.

Did you ever spend a great deal of time looking for something and it was in front of you the whole time. I once remember traveling to Mexico and spent hours looking in several shops for the ideal chess board only to find the one I really liked in the Duty Free Shop.

I’m looking for things to do on New Years Eve and low and behold the answer has been hitting me in the face all day. I have had the local paper on my desk open to an advertisement Carlucci’s New Years Eve party in Downers Grove. $75 for Dinner, two drink tickets and great entertainment. The best part for me is that the Double Tree Hotel is across the street. I think a call to my friend Dan Techman, the catering manager is in order. It’s a good life.

You’re driving home from a day of returning ugly Christmas sweaters, clearance rack blow outs and half off wrapping paper when you see your neighbor already taking down his Christmas decorations. If you take a closer look he may be adding more decor.

No, neither the neighbor or I have been nipping on spiked eggnog, we have been reading about Patch.com’s Deck Your House and Win $100,000 for your local school district. Starting on December 30th and running through January 8th, people who live in any of the Patch.com communities across the country will be able to vote for the Best Decked House in all of Patch. The grand prize winner’s school district will receive a $100,000 check from Patch.

So if you picked up an extra strand of lights or two today and put the boxes back on the shelf, you may want to get back in the car and get them. The extra lights may help you win $100,000 for your schools and lets face it, good schools add value to our properties. It’s a good life.