Shirley Mondragon:  

I can barely remember high school graduation. Friends tell me, while waiting for the Archer bus to take us downtown, we hitched a ride instead on a newspaper truck. The driver dropped us off in front of the Opera House, the sight of our graduation ceremony. Now I'm a Lyric Opera season subscriber. Who da thunk? I went on to college and graduate school. I wish I took high school more seriously, especially Spanish class. I'd do anything to be multilingual now. I was a smart kid who played dumb. After college, I moved to the Lincoln Park area; traveled; briefly lived in Europe; became a medical professional; married one of my patients (and 17 years later mercifully divorced); had 2 daughters. My family moved from the southwest side of Chicago years ago and I currently live in the bland and boring western suburbs. In my travels, every place seemed better then Chicago. As we often learn better late then never, the grass is not greener. My eldest daughter attends Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. My youngest is still in high school and will also be a music performance major in college. After 20 years of employment at the same institution, I was released from servitude in 2003 and, thanks to Cook County tax payers, I'm collecting a substantial pension for the rest of my life. I now work in a self-employed capacity. It's still work but at least it's not for The Man. A few years ago, I had an opportunity to visit Kennedy High School when my daughter was involved in an orchestral event there. There were metal detec...Expand for more