GA_122817

20 | December 28, 2017 | The glencoe anchor Life & Arts
glencoeanchor.com
Glencoe author visits library to chat about new book
Hilary Anderson
Freelance Reporter
“Is history
repeating itself?”
That is
one of the
thoughts
Ellis Goodman,
Glencoe
resident
Goodman
and author, posed to the
audience Dec. 19 at the
Glencoe Library. The
visiting author session
offered a talk about his
latest book, “The Keller
Papers.”
The book is an espionage
tale set in Eastern Europe
at the height of the Cold
War in the 1980s. While it
is historical fiction, Goodman
uses actual events that
occurred during that time
in his novel and characters
he once knew.
“This book, which I
started about four years
ago, covers a period in
history during the 1980s
Cold War,” Goodman
said. “I want to talk about
that Cold War and what is
happening today.”
His book’s plot deals
with Austria and Poland,
which were then behind
the Iron Curtain.
“In Austria in May
1983, the Freedom Party
of Austria, which was a
far Right party set up by
neo-Nazis suddenly became
popular because of
a charismatic young leader,”
Goodman said. “As a
result, they won and had
an anti-immigration, anti-
European Union policy
and gained a lot of seats.
For the first time they had
an opportunity to take a
part in the government.
They helped swing votes.
This period in 1983 was
the beginning of their success
and then faded from
view. More recently, they
have come back again as
a coalition but they say
nothing is going to disturb
the situation.”
Goodman concluded
history seems to repeat
itself.
“At least I think it
does,” Goodman said.
Goodman added this
situation is also being
seen in Poland, where
the authoritarian government
is getting rid of the
supreme court, changing
laws, doing things that
will not allow people to
vote, taking control of the
media — what he calls a
frightening situation.
“Then you have Russia
again, which invaded
the Ukraine,” Goodman
said. “Instead of a hot
war, we have a Cold War,
which is a cyber war. So
the question again is history
repeating itself? If so,
are we going to learn any
lessons or are we going to
do exactly as we have previously?”
Audience members
questioned what happened
to make this occur.
“The Keller Papers” is a
sequel to Goodman’s first
book, “Bear Any Burden.”
It covers the time period
from the 1990s to the then
present time.
A discussion later followed,
which led to a
change in subject — one
on a lighter note.
Goodman surprised the
audience by saying that he
does not write a word of
his books.
“I used Dragon Speak,”
he said. “It is wonderful. I
talk and let the computer
type it out with about 85
percent accuracy. I put
down what is missing and
then edit it. I used a Dictaphone
for my first book,
“Corona, The Inside Story
of America’s #1 Beer,”
and my poor secretary had
to type it all.”
Goodman is a man of
many talents and said he
has had about four or five
careers. His first foray
into the business world
was that of a public accountant,
which led him
to do work for many pop
stars — Rolling Stones,
Animals, Hermans Hermits,
Mick Jaegger and
even some work for The
Beatles.
He also was an investor/manager
in the music
industry’s GTO’s records
and film distribution —
The Greek Tycoon and
Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Goodman was a producer
on two award-winning
documentary feature
films, “Louder than
a Bomb” and “Mulberry
Child,” and the Broadway
productions of “End of the
Rainbow” and “An American
in Paris.”
Goodman likewise
worked in commercial
real estate and the beverage
alcohol industry.
Goodman and his wife,
Gillian, are longtime
Glencoe residents who
recently celebrated their
52nd wedding anniversary.
Gillian Goodman often
can be seen delivering
new resident bags to those
moving into the community.
She also is the executive
director of Kings Hill
Farms, which provides organically
grown produce.
Misericordia’s Heart of Mercy raises $1M at awards
Lee A. Litas
Freelance Reporter
John (left) and Pat O’Brien of Glencoe. Photos by Lee A.
Litas/22nd Century Media
Members of Misericordia
and Heart of Mercy’s
Women’s Board, plus
nearly 900 guests, gathered
Nov. 17 inside the
grand ballroom of the Hilton
Chicago to honor this
year’s outstanding contributors,
volunteers and
donors. The event raised
more than $1 million.
More than 600 children
and adults with mild-toprofound
developmental
disabilities, and 140 outreach
families, receive
care from Misericordia.
The Women’s Board mission
is to promote and
support this work through
volunteering and fundraising
efforts.
Besides spanning religious,
racial and socioeconomic
backgrounds, 20
percent of Misericordia’s
residents come from either
impoverished families,
have no families or are
wards of the State.
Awards included the
Heart of Mercy Award to
David and Sue Moore, of
Glenview; Pillars of the
Community Award to James
“Jim” Connolly, of Palos
Park, and Charles “Chuck”
LoVerde III, of Beverly; and
Service Medallion to Paula
Conrad, of Chicago.
ABOVE: Board
members (left to
right) Tom Desmond,
John and Janet
Keller, and Michelle
and Paul Laughlin,
of Glencoe.
RIGHT: Connie (left)
and Bob Soudan, of
Glencoe.