By Steve Rhodes
Longtime readers of mine know I am a huge fan of Cheryl Lavin’s “Tales from the Front.” If you are as well – and you really should be – now is a good time to step up and declare your fandom because the column seems to have been dropped by the Tribune. Here is an e-mail Lavin sent out to readers this week, followed by mentions “Tales” has received in the Beachwood in the past.
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Dear Reader,
Your interest in Tales from the Front means so much to me. Unfortunately, when the Tribune redesigned the paper, they left me out! I didn’t find out until it was too late to even write a note explaining what happened.
I’m hoping the Powers That Be will reconsider. I’m also hoping that the column will be available on the Chicago Tribune web site. It’s still syndicated in many papers across the country including the Detroit Free Press. I’ve been writing Tales from the Front for 24 years and I don’t intend to stop now! I’ve always felt that I had a special bond with my readers. Please continue to send me your thoughts, problems and issues.
I appreciate your loyalty. Some of you have been reading the column since Reagan was president! I’d love to hear from you and if you want to let the editors of the paper know that you miss the column, please send them an email. They are tbannon@tribune.com, gfbrown@tribune.com, publiceditor@tribune.com, cbender@tribune.com, and gkern@tribune.com.
Again, thank you for your support. This fat lady ain’t through singing!
Cheryl Lavin
Tales from the Front
In the Beachwood:
* April 14, 2006: “If the Tribune were smart (oh, how many times have we wished it were so . . . ) it would put Tales From the Front on the cover of Tempo and leave it there, and give Cheryl Lavin Ask Amy’s promotional budget.
* April 21, 2006: “You still have to hunt for it every day, but Cheryl Lavin’s Tales From The Front rarely disappoints.”
* July 12, 2006: “How priceless does this column continue to be?”
* July 3, 2007: “But then, this is the paper that no longer has its own editorial cartoonist, no longer has a political gossip column, no longer has Steve Rosenbloom’s “Hit & Run,” no longer has a Tempo columnist, no longer has David Greising’s business column, no longer has Bernie Lincicome, no longer has a real Books section, has a terrible Sunday magazine, forgoes covering aldermanic races, buries “Tales From the Front” while in recent years adding Ask Amy, Jonah Goldberg and Dennis Byrne to its illustrious roster of kick-ass columnists like Mary Skilling Schmich and Dawn Turner Trite, is still sending reporters to the Taste of Chicago to eat as much as they can, and has a Metro section that is a random collection of mostly irrelevant stories.”
* September 13, 2007: “Danielle writes to Cheryl Lavin’s Tales From the Front:
“There are 10 dealbreakers for me. And guess what? My ex had all of them. (Except No. 6.)
1. Married.
2. Criminal history.
3. Addiction (alcohol/drugs/sex/gambling.)
4. Lives with ‘roommate’ of the opposite sex.
5. Unemployed.
6. Lives at home with mom who doesn’t need him for medical reasons.
7. Has been married more than twice.
8. Is behind in his financial obligations.
9. Has history of infidelity.
10. Has children for whom he has never assumed financial responsibility.”
Well, nine of 10 ain’t bad.
* March 3, 2008: “You say you’re young but you’re not completely stupid. I beg to differ.”
– Cheryl Lavin in the always wise and entertaining “Tales From the Front”
* March 26, 2008: “”She snorted when she laughed. She always snorted when she laughed, but one day I knew I couldn’t spend another minute listening to it.”
– Bill, in a Tales From The Front column about last straws
Posted on October 10, 2008