Michael Madden:  

My story is now 74 years in the making and still a work-in-progress event. I was born in May of 1946 at St Francis hospital in Evanston, IL. My first home was on Lunt Avenue at the corner of Octavia and Lunt in Edison Park. I really don't remember anything about the place because we moved out to a larger house in 1947. The second home was at 7144 N Ottawa Ave in Chicago. It was on a dead-end street that ran at that time only South one block South off of Touhy Avenue. There was a large prairie to play in that was part of my grandfathers small farm. I went to Kindergarten at Ebinger Elementary School on Pratt Ave. Next came first through eight grades at St Juliana's School on Touhy Avenue. My family moved twice during those years to help my mother get better access to public transportation to her prison warden job. She was the Asst Principal at the Lyman Trumbull grade school at Ashland and Foster in Chicago. In fourth grade we moved to 6930 N Owen. Then in early 8th grade we moved to Sauganash around Cicero and Peterson. All during 8th grade I had to take three CTA buses everyday coming and going to school. I attended Notre Dame High School in Niles. The class motto for Notre Dame was "IGAS". Only those from the class of 1964 know its meaning and celebrated it at Beck Lake on our last day of high school. In August of 1964 I boarded a Santa Fe train at the old Dearborn St. station heading for St Michaels College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The college changed names in 1966 to the College of Santa Fe. I majored in the sciences and got a BS d...Expand for more