There's still time

Please consider doing something special this holiday season. Go to toysfortots2006.com and click on "sponsor a toy." You can make a donation via credit card and the organization will use the money to purchase appropriate gifts. It seems not many toys are dropped off for kids between the ages of 8 and 14, and they deserve a Merry Christmas, too.

This sad fact came home to me yesterday. There's a grocery store in my neighborhood that puts little construction paper hearts on their tree. Each ornament represents a kid from Hephzibah Home.* Hephzibah offers child welfare services, foster care, daycare, and other important programs. The ornaments give the kid's first name, age, favorite color, clothes sizes, and a special Christmas wish. Shoppers are encouraged to grab an ornament and anonymously play Santa.

This year, instead of picking an ornament off the tree, I brought a box of toys over to Hephzibah. I included Legos and Bratz and Barbie and Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. I felt quite pleased with myself. Then I saw whose ornaments were left on the tree …

Older kids. Like Vanesssa. Age 12. Who wants a CD boombox. And let's face it, a set of Disney Princess books is more fun to pick up than a CD boombox.

But imagine what it must be like for a kid like Vanessa, who must live right here in town, to see that her ornament is one of the few that hasn't been taken. So I took it. The boombox was only $20, and it's worth $20 to me to not conjure up Vanessa's sad, disappointed face.

An easier way around this problem is to go to toysfortots2006.org and click on "sponsor a toy." Please consider it.


*www.hephzibahhome.org

In praise of Leo

I saw Blood Diamond over the weekend and found it to be a challenging (albeit very, very violent) movie and a daring choice for a Christmas release. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, who is (along with Johnny Depp) the most reliable and charismatic actor on the screen today.

As Danny Archer, Leo is an updated Rick Blaine, plying his trade in Africa instead of Casablanca. Savvy, streetwise, cynical but still basically decent. This is yet another movie where Leo held my interest and earned my admiration.

Loved him in:

• The Departed, where he was way less verbal yet still able to convey that he was also way more tortured.

• The Aviator, where he went from damaged boy to looney man while retaining our sympathy every step of the way.

• Catch Me if You Can, where he made larceny seem like such good, clean boyish fun that we dreaded his painfully inevitable capture.

• Marvin's Room, one of my all-time favorite movies, where he made the pain of trying to find your way almost palpable.

• What's Eating Gilbert Grape, where he was so good I didn't realize he wasn't a special kid until I saw him at the Oscars.

Oh, and then there's little movie about the boat. What was that again?

I know he's made movies I didn't list above. That isn't because I didn't love him in them. It's only because I haven't seen them yet.

I know he is considered a sex symbol. I know women who find him very attractive. I'm not one of those women, though. He's simply too damn young. Lusting after him would make me feel like Mary Kay LeTourneau.

But I look forward to his every movie, and he hasn't disappointed me yet.

"Bears Holding Tank"

From the Chicago Sun-Times, that's today's best headline.

I'm not a Bears fan. My obsession for the Cubs is so consuming there really is no room in my heart for any other team. But I appreciate how exciting this season is for Bear fans and I know how frustrating it is to see one of anchors of their famous defense, Tank Johnson, out of uniform when he is strong and able to play.

HOWEVER …

His behavior is absolutely ridiculous. On Thursday of last week, Johnson's home was raided and he was charged with six misdemeanor counts of illegal possession of weapons. Then, a mere 12 hours later, he was in a nightclub with his "best friend and bodyguard," who was shot and killed.

I believe this is what they call "a bad day."

The Bears must do something. Super Bowl run or no, you can't let a guy like this suit up. The team is talking to the league about their options are.

When I was a kid, Joe Willie Namath was run out of football (briefly) for owning a bar. Now the NFL has Rae Carruthers, OJ Simpson and Tank. How far we've come, and what a sad journey it's been.