Jennie Spallone

As a veteran Pita Inn patron, I noted the opening of Pita City, 161 W. Dundee Rd., Buffalo Grove with a yawn. Why did we need a similar restaurant in the neighborhood? The Pita Inn is a quality staple in the community, whether one is seeking falafel or Shawarma. And their prices are affordable for all.

Jackie, a Beth Am member, told me she'd eaten at the Buffalo Grove Mediterranean cuisine restaurant and didn't like the food. "The chickpeas were flat instead of round and that was "really weird." Yet Vanessa, my 18-year-old middle daughter -- and a very picky eater at that -- raved about Pita City's chicken kabobs!

Attempting to maintain an open mind, I brought my husband to Pita City last night. The new storefront had just opened and a side of the restaurant wall was still covered with plastic. Not a really appetizing site. Yet a steady trickle of customers entered the Buffalo Grove restaurant.

The prices were noticeably higher than Pita Inn on some of the entrees, as I mentioned to the clerk. He responded that the prices -- say for example, the lamb kabobs -- were lower here than at their other location in Mundelein. I decided to try the food, then comment. My husband ordered the Combination Plate of chicken, shish kabobs, shawrma, falafel. I ordered a falafel sandwich and a Jerusalem Salad.

All I can say is, "Wow!" I am so glad we gave Pita City in Buffalo Grove a try! The kosher pita sandwich appeared more textured than the ones we normally eat, and the falafel, flat as tiny pancakes, fit perfectly nside the bread with its lettuce, tomato, and onion. The accompanying hummus and hot sauces were a perfect touch. The sandwich, combined with a hearty side dish of Jerusalem salad, really hit the spot!

My husband really enjoyed the combo plate. Just goes to show we should never judge a book by its cover -- or in this case -- it's blue plastic. We both plan on coming back again and again to Pita City in Cook County Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Pita City's phone number is 847-777-500. Tell them Jennie sent you!

One by one, each of us can make a difference. Read this excerpt, then contact me if you'd like to take one block in a neighborhood -- or even one neighborhood -- and provide lunch for needy kids over summer vacation. We're talking sandwich, Capri Sun, chips, apple, cookie. Let's form our own grassroots organization to pull this off!

(To learn more about the summer meals program and to find out where the feeding sites are located, call the National Hunger Clearinghouse and Hunger Hotline toll-free at 866-348-6479 or 866-3-HUNGRY, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. )

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WASHINGTON (June 16) -- With the school year ending in communities across America, more than 16 million children face a summer of hunger.

While classes were in session, they relied on free or discount cafeteria meals subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But they will not be reached by the patchwork summer food programs financed by the USDA, which feed fewer than one in five of the total number of kids poor enough to qualify.
The children caught in the gap will likely spend the next few months cadging leftovers from neighbors, chowing down on cheap junk, lining up with their families at food banks that are already overmatched or simply learning to live with a constant headache, growling stomach and chronic fatigue.

Hunger Task Force Schoolchildren gather for lunch in Milwaukee, Wisc., where summer school will be in session this year for only four weeks -- meaning hungry kids will increasingly rely on help from groups like the city's Hunger Task Force.

The USDA paid for meals for 3.3 million children over the summer break last year, through programs cobbled together by local governments and nonprofit groups. Money flows through an ungainly system: The local organizations provide meals and get reimbursed by the state government, which in turn receives federal payments.

State by state, the ability to get meals to poor children varied wildly during last year's school vacation.
In Milwaukee, the Hunger Taskforce organization has linked up with private partners like the Salvation Army and the Wisconsin-based motorcycle company Harley-Davidson to pick up some of the slack: allowing a van, for instance, to travel to neighborhoods where there is no summer meal program. Children line up in a scene reminiscent of refugees seeking help from foreign aid workers in a far-off land. Handing out bags of food from coolers in the back of the van does not qualify for federal reimbursement, so the donors cover the cost.

Friday was one of those "bad hair" days. I'm not talking rain frizzy or Linguini flat. I'm talking color, as in Fire Engine Red. Not the best color for a Realtor to wear on listing appointments, with sellers thinking "Evacuate!" while I attempt to explain current market conditions!

All week long, I'd pondered what to do. Did I have the guts to go back to the beauty salon I'd frequented only 120 hours before and ask for a re-do -- especially when a half-price coupon had been my total admission?

The realization that Mother's Day was lurking around the corner forced me to take a stand. I headed towards the northwest corner of the busy Dominick's parking lot on Dundee and Buffalo Grove Road, all the while wondering if I was doing the right thing. According to my 24-year-old daughter, complaining was "unclassy." What did that make me, I wondered. Hesitantly, I swung open the door to the Glamour Salon & Spa at 730 Buffalo Grove Road, meandered up to the front desk, and asked for the beautician who'd colored my hair.

A lovely, petite woman who identified herself as the owner smiled apologetically at me. The beautician had left for the evening. Could someone else help me, she asked. My words tumbled over each other as I shared how I'd been here twice before. Both times I'd lugged around a mane of dark red hair that made my pale complexion look drawn and haggard. Without baiting an eye, the owner gently guided me towards a hair stylist by the name of Galina. But I'm not paying over again, I protested. How will she get paid? I will pay her, said the owner. We want you to be happy.

Galina popped me in her chair. Everyone helps each other here, she said. A simple lightening of the red was all I requested. The stylist bent down and looked me in the eye. What do you really want, she asked. I'd love to be blonde again, I mumbled, but that would take too much of your time. That's fine, she said. We just want you to be happy.

First, Galina bleached my hair, adding baking soda into the mix so as not to damage my hair. Then she added light gold highlights -- no extra charge! Finally she re-colored my hair, warning me that some red might still be visible. Three and a half hours later, I emerged from her chair, a woman reborn. The red tinge to the blonde was way better than its predecessor.

How can I let other women know what a fabulous job you folks do, I asked. The owner smiled. Tell your friends Mother's Day will be extended to them for the whole month of May. Half-price on coloring, hair cuts, twenty percent of full set of acrylic or Gel Nails, and a Free Brow Wax with purchase of a manicure or pedicure.

So please -- steal my Mother's Day Gift! And go home happy. www.glamoursalonspa.net

Up until this decade, Realtors popped strangers in the backseats of their cars with no thought of their own safety. We assumed we were invincible, although a pistol or knife failed to share space with the list of properties to show that day.

Sunday Open Houses were another venture into fantasyland as we allowed any Tom, Dick, or Sherry to walk right through our listing's unlocked door without further ado. Never in a million years did we imagine that nice friendly face appraising our seller's prescription bottles and jewelry with a calculating eye. Nor did we imagine that leading a stranger up the stairs of that remodeled colonial could place us in a dangerous scenario.

But since 9/11, America's naive personna has taken a hit. Realtors, along with all american citiznes must reluctantly admit that we are no longer as safe as we'd imagined. That doesn't mean a terrorist is going to place a bomb in the toilet of your seller's master bathroom. Nor that every male who follows a female through a silent house harbors criminal intentions. Yet, we've had enough sense knocked into our noggins to take precautions.

Robert Sicilliano, author of Safety Expert, offers the following safety tips for Realtors. Let me know which ones make sense to you in your business:

1. Pre-qualify before or at your first meeting. (Someone who is prequalified by a lender is less likely to be a bad guy or gal. Robert suggests we should ID our prospects, too. Haven't become that enlightened yet!)

2. Set that first appointment at your office. (Safer in numbers. Also more professional. If prospect refuses, say "bye-bye.")

3. Before showing a property, let office and family member know where you're going and when you will return. Have them phone to check on you."

4. Use pre-determined code to alert office of distress. (Haven't tried this yet, but sounds effective! Ex. "It's in the yellow folder.")

5. Trust your gut. (Don't put anyone in your car whom you're unsure about.)

*The first time we go out, I prefer to drive my own vehicle and let prospect follow.

6. Dress for safety and success. (Don't wear expensive jewelry. Dress professionally, not provocatively. Lose the scarves and "flowy" style blouses or dresses. Drop the heels. Wear shoes you can run and kick in.)

7. Know how to defend yourself. (Have pepper-spray in your coat pocket, and a ball point pen ready to jab. If in danger, drop to the ground and kick the knees and groin. 80 percent of women who fight back get away.)

8. Have a plan for a safe Open House. (I open the big door but leave the screen door locked. This way, the prospect has to ring the bell. If the house is vacant, I allow the prospect to tour himself/herself and answer questions downstairs. Otherwise, I follow the prospect up the stairs. I also position myself by the door to the room so I can make a quick get-away.)

Hope these safety tips provided some food for thought. I look forward to reading your comments!