April 23rd

This week, Dylan and I visited with Jerry at his apartment for a little while before heading to Andersonville for lunch. We ate at a restaurant called Hamburger Mary's which Jerry had been raving about for the past few weeks. The burgers definitely lived up to the hype. One burger in particular was a patty in between two separate grilled cheese sandwiches....two of them. So as you can imagine, we enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards, we stopped by a few furniture shops and then topped the day off with very depressing visit to a pet store. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful day. However, there was a sense of sadness for the duration of our visit with Jerry. We didn't engage in our usual give-and-take comedy routines. Perhaps, it was due to the fact that it was our last meeting with him. Hopefully everything will be back to normal on Thursday. Looking forward to it.

Alrik


This week was a sad week for the three of us because it was the last time we all could do something together aside from the final party. This week we were excited to venture to a restaurant that Jerry loves to go to, Hamburger Mary's in Andersonville. This place had exquisite burgers that you probably cannot find anywhere else. For instance I had a burger in between two massive grilled cheese sandwiches. After we ate, we decided to walk the huge meal we consumed off in Andersonville. Jerry always talks about the brown elephant so we stopped in there for a bit to look at furniture. After the brown elephant we went to a couple other antique shops and a "pet store", that did not bring us any joy... In the end it was a great day with Jerry but it was clear to see that he was upset that this was our last meeting. Since I will be around Chicago I believe that I will try to meet up with Jerry a couple times throughout the summer. I know he will be happy to hear that.

-Dylan 

April 9

This week we were actually able to meet with Jerry! We started the morning by swinging by McDonalds for some breakfast sandwiches and coffees then went to Jerry's house. Today was a lot of catching up and checking in. Jerry loves to hear about what is going on with our job search and always gives us his views and background experiences, which is helpful. As always there is a crazy story that Jerry tells us that we cannot believe happened. This week I was telling Jerry about my research paper on Watergate and it instantly sparked a story. Jerry told us about how he and a couple friends had ventured near the Kennedy compound and how all of a sudden an combat truck pulled up with 18 armed men on top, which followed them out for about 3 miles. Jerry said that it was unbelievable but as always, talked about it in a very light manner. Later on we spoke about his past cars and all the bells an whistles they had.
As our time came to an end Jerry asked about how many more sessions we had together. After we told him the number, we could see he was sad to hear the news. Alrik and I both know that we have had an impact on him and we are going to attempt to stay in touch after the program is over.

-Dylan

April 2

Unfortunately, Dylan and I were unable to meet with Jerry last week. We left our apartment Thursday morning prepared to meet him, but realized that Dylan's car was not in its supposed location. After throwing around a few scenarios, we discovered that the car had been towed by the wonderful management team of Silver Properties Group (our building complex). So instead of enjoying some good conversation with Jerry, Dylan and I had the pleasure of taking an Uber to the cesspool that is Lincoln Towing. Fortunately, we successfully retrieved the car with no casualties. If all goes smoothly for us this week, we will go out for some burgers with Jerry on Thursday. Fingers crossed.

Alrik

Adventures With Jerry 3-26

Hey Ladies and Gents,

Today was another eventful moment in the adventures of Alrik and Dylan meet Jerry. We went out to the Swedish American Museum in Anderson to take a tour of Jerry and Alrik's lineage. This was Alrik and I's first time at the museum, so we got to see exactly how the Swedish American community formed here in Chicago. We learned about all the places that swedes settled as they came to America and learned a little about the origins of North Park. Although the museum was small we learned that Walgreens was created by a Swede, North Park's Old Main was at one time the tallest building, and got to see a sample of the immigrant name list. After we went through the museum, we stopped by the gift shop and picked up some Swedish chocolate! Jerry has been looking for some new furniture so we ventured to a near by store to browse. After the store we went to Calo's in Andersonville for lunch and munched on some pizza together. Then Jerry mentioned that he wanted to go to the Swedish Bakery as well, so we stopped in there and sampled some cinnamon rolls and pistachio cakes. As we talked throughout the day Jerry told us stories about his brother Steve and the sacrifices Jerry made for him. Jerry dropped out of college so that Steve could go and their family could afford it. Alrik and I both saw that Jerry has a huge heart and loves his family dearly.
      Aside from that Jerry wants to take us to Mary's on Clark where the servers are predominately drag queens. As we have learned throughout our visits Jerry is apart of the Gay community throughout Chicago, which Alrik and I have not yet experienced. As for next week Jerry needs some help setting up his DVD player at his house and wants to go to Mary's for a bite to eat.
     Jerry truly is an amazing guy and really is invested in our lives because of this experience. I hope that we are able to continue this relationship beyond this class.

Until Next Week,

-Dylan

P.S. check out this photos...

As Dylan has already mentioned, last week we went to the Swedish Museum with Jerry. It was my first time visiting, and having a swedish heritage, I found it to be very interesting. It was very cool to hear Jerry's take on everything since his parents both immigrated to the United States from Sweden when they were only 18. He shared their story and new a lot about every exhibit. He grew up in Rockford, IL which the museum classified as one of the major Swedish immigrant hubs in the midwest. After the exhibit, we got robbed in the souvenir shop (the chocolate is outrageously priced). After the museum we decided to get lunch and chatted for a bit. Jerry provided us with great career advice that I will be sure to take with me after this program is over. This week we plan to go to one of Jerry's favorite restaurants. Looking forward to it.

Alrik

March 16th

This week Dylan and I picked Jerry up from his apartment and went to Tre Kronor despite his strong distaste for authentic Swedish food (it was his idea). I find this funny because I share a similar revulsion towards the food of my roots. However, we both enjoy Swedish pancakes, meatballs, and eggs so Tre Kronor isn't so bad. Pickled herring and korv turn us both off. My girlfriend was visiting on her Spring break so she was able to come with! She had already heard so much about Jerry from me beforehand so I was very excited for them to meet. She mentioned how funny and young he seemed with his quick wit and crazy stories. One story in particular involved Jerry dropping his kid brother off at the from steps of an orphanage (as a prank obviously) and driving around the block before going back to get him. I have come to realize that Jerry was and still is much cooler than Dylan and myself and probably would have found us boring if we grew up as peers. I am looking forward to our next meeting.

Alrik

Week March 16th:

This week we took Jerry to Tre Kroner for brunch! He is a Swede himself so he had to get Swedish Pancakes. This week we had Alriks girlfriend in town. Jerry knew that she was here and asked Alrik if he could meet her, so Gloria joined us for Brunch. As we all got caught up with what has been going on in our lives for the past few weeks, Jerry showed us this Newspaper article about a couple in Turkey. A few weeks ago we showed Jerry our pictures from our trip to Istanbul and the video of a riot that we experienced. This newspaper article was a story about an american couple that were imprisoned for 8 months in turkey for accidentally purchasing a high priority artifact in the Grand Bazar. Jerry said we should be glad that wasn't us hahah... Anyways, we had a great brunch with Jerry and we will be going shopping with Jerry next week.

- Dylan

Week 2

This week, Dylan and I spent our time with Jerry exchanging stories in his living room once again. We had planned to help Jerry pick out some new furniture, but the freezing temperatures stopped us. He shared many more exciting stories that further displayed his adventurous lifestyle when he was younger. Dylan spotted a book titled "Woodstock" on the coffee table which quickly led to Jerry sharing about his experiences there. Following this, he told us about a time where he and a group of 30 sum friends rented a bus and drove down to Colorado for a music festival. At the end of the trip, they bought out a liquor store of all their Coors products because it was only sold in-state at that time.  His stories and love for travel is inspiring. He emphasized the fact that Dylan and I need to take advantage of our ample time and energy while we can because at a certain point your opportunities dwindle. After sharing this, he seemed almost sad that he could no longer explore the globe but made it clear that he has lived a good life. With this being said, I believe Jerry's advice to capitalize on your youth and do what you love while you can is very important. Perhaps depression later in life stems from the realization that you can longer do certain things that were once possible in your youth,

Alrik

Week 2,

Our plans of going furniture shopping did not work out as planned. Jerry did not want to venture out into the cold if he didn't absolutely need to. Even though we just hung out at Jerry's house we shared a lot about ourselves this week. Jerry had many more interesting stories to share with us. One that I found intriguing was the time he spent at Woodstock. I love music so I had to know who he went to see. I soon learned that Jerry was there about four days and say Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones... and so many more. They way he spoke about it was a similar way that I would speak about lollapalooza. As we continued our conversation, it moved towards literature and art. Jerry has many relief prints throughout his home which I told him was my girlfriends main medium. So Jerry, Alrik, and I went through Cari's art. Jerry loved it and I told Cari that he was interested, she has asked me to give him a piece of her art to have. I know Jerry will be excited for this. After we went through her art, Alrik and I went through our pictures from Istanbul and told Jerry about all the things we had seen. Specifically, we shoed Jerry a video of a riot that we caught in. He laughed about it and said that he was sure that was an "experience". This week we spent a little more time with Jerry's partner Jeff and learned about his love for singing and that he used to participate in the Windy City Men's Gay Choir. Jerry and Jeff plan to go to the next show when they are able. As for the week after spring break, we plan to go to Tre Kroner to grab some Swedish American food with our old Sweed.

Till Next Week,

Dylan

The First Meeting,


Jerry Sealin is a man of much adventure. To start our adventure together we grabbed some sandwiches and coffees from Dunkin. We met Jerry at his home to share a scrumptious meal and talk about our lives for a short time. Jerry was salesman for a big time fastener distributor and had many stories about the many places he has been. As Alrik and I entered his home we found a giving man that seeks to find community through conversation. Jerry Sealin is a kind man with many interesting thoughts. Through our first meeting we have found out that he just wants to hang out and learn about each other. Jerry had many stories to tell us about his life, from his family situation to his ventures across the globe. The most interesting story he shared was about the time he and his sales partner went to Italy and dined at a discrete bar that he believes was tied to the mob. In addition, Alrik and I found out that he is of Swedish decent and spends a lot of time around Andersonville. We spoke about his family ties in Sweden and the crazy story about his parents meeting in America, even though their are both from Sweden. Jerry came from a hard working family and clearly loves them dearly. We have planned our next adventure and it is not what we expected. We will be helping Jerry move furniture out and shop for two new seats for his living room. Alrik and I are excited to see what things Jerry will teach us and how we will expand his knowledge as well.

till next time,

Dylan

Jerry is a first-generation American citizen. His mother and father traveled to America from Sweden at the age of 18, individually. They both ended up in Rockford, IL, met, fell in love, and started a family. Jerry is the oldest of all his siblings. He shared with us that from a young age, he and his brother shared aspirations of being successful businessmen. He soon became a well-known salesman who handled large accounts including General Motors and his brother became a dignified accountant in the city. They both reached their goal by making good money and having nothing to tie them down- the world was theirs. Jerry utilized his time and money by traveling the globe while his brother chose to use it "irresponsibly". He kept reiterating the fact that Dylan and I will soon have more money than sense and that we should be very careful. Without us adding any input, he decided that it is something that we must find out on our own. He added that he can give us all his wisdom and advice about it, but we will still act irrationally and as if we were immortal. He was this same way. When he was in his early 20's, he thought time would stop and that this was life as he now knew it. Unfortunately, the world kept spinning. I believe his general thesis was to stay present and enjoy every moment- do not fight time, embrace it. After talking for about an hour, Jerry called to his roommate to come join us and take our picture. They have been living together for the past 10 years and seem to have a real bond with one another. After about 70 attempts at the right picture, I think we got it. Looking forward to this Thursday.

Alrik

Week 1

WEEK 1

Jerry Sealin is quite the character. Although Alrik and I have not met him yet he was extremely excited to speak with us on the phone and set up our first meeting! As we had Jerry on speaker, which might of played a factor in why he called Alrik, "OHLRIG" he was glad to meet us. As we tried to figure out what schedule best suits the group Jerry was very adaptable. I could clearly see that he really values Little Brothers and does not want to miss out on hanging out with us. As we listened to his current medical situation, we knew he was not to happy about going to see the doctor. Alrik and I asked if there was anything we could do and thoroughly explained that we are willing to do what ever suits him best. Jerry seems like a happy guy that really loves what Little Brothers sets out to accomplish. I am very excited to meet him and learn about his life as we tell him about ours. As for our first meeting Jerry has requested that we bring Dunkin'... apparently he loves it. I am looking forward to sharing stories and establishing the relationship over a cup of coffee next thursday with Jerry and Alrik. 

Until next week,

Dylan 

Week 1

Unfortunately, Dylan and I have not met our elder, Jerry, yet. However, we did have the pleasure of speaking with him on the phone yesterday after class. At first he sounded bewildered, and maybe even a little annoyed, to be receiving a call from a random "Dylan" and some stranger named "Olrog" (as he pronounced). Yet to our surprise, once he discovered it was his new friends from Little Brothers he livened up and became excited immediately. From this point on it was difficult to squeeze a word in between his various stories and updates concerning his medical health. Before this contact was made, I was nervous that it may be difficult to keep a constant conversation going during our home visits and could result in many awkward silences. Now that I am aware of Jerry's super power (small talk/story telling), my fear has disappeared. I apologize for summarizing but I felt that the context was necessary.  On a more serious note, I am beyond excited to be working with Little Brothers and can't wait to learn from Jerry's stories and experiences. This class has given me a new perspective on the elderly and their worth in our society. It is a shame that we take their wisdom and other resources for granted. During this experience, I hope that I can be receptive to and thereby capitalize on Jerry's wisdom. After the experience, I plan to continue seeking advice and wisdom from this particular demographic.

Thanks for reading,

Alrik