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Antioch sophomore Zach Rubin (left) and junior Evan Schmidt hold their second-place bag Thursday at the Chain O’Lakes North sectional, which advanced them to IHSA’s state finals May 17-18 at Carlyle Lake.Provided ‘Probably my most memorable fish was my biggest brown trout of 22 pounds,’’ Antioch junior Evan Schmidt said. ‘‘I was with my dad and didn’t have a net. My dad was dangling off the side of a pier [in Kenosha, Wisconsin] and trying to grab it.’’His dad, Mike Schmidt, couldn’t lip the brown because the treble hooks on his son’s KVD 1.5 crankbait had treble-hooked in the thrashing brown’s mouth.‘‘We ended up getting it in,’’ Evan Schmidt said. ‘‘He kind of, like, bear-hugged.’’Schmidt’s partner for Antioch’s bass-fishing team is sophomore Zach Rubin, who said, ‘‘Evan is a crazy multispecies guy. He will catch anything.’’They qualified for the state finals in bass fishing with a second-place finish Thursday at the Chain O’Lakes North Sectional. Antioch’s other team — senior James Sheehan and junior Jason Lee — took first place, anchored by Sheehan’s big bass of 4 pounds, 5 ounces.The finals are May 17-18 at Carlyle Lake. Antioch sophomore Zach Rubin (left) and junior Evan Schmidt do a bass-fishing hold with their baseball equipment.Provided Schmidt and Rubin juggle two sports. Both are also varsity baseball players who rushed to games after winning the Northern Lake County Conference tournament on the Chain for the second time last month and again after their sectional finish.‘‘It was kind of hectic, but you’ve got to change in the car on the way,’’ Rubin said. ‘‘Then grab your bag. We didn’t even get to watch the weigh-in. We had to head back to school for baseball.’’High school anglers at state sometimes juggle prom and fishing in the tournament. This is different. Schmidt and Rubin will go to state for bass fishing.‘‘There was a little question because of baseball, but [the state tournament] falls the week before playoffs,’’ said Schmidt, who plays first base and outfield. ‘‘We had a conversation with our coach [Frank Fracek], and he said, ‘Go for it.’ ’’Rubin has good reason for being a third baseman. He was at the Cubs game in which Kris Bryant got his first major-league hit in 2015. Rubin said right now his dreams are of playing baseball.He is also a good bass fisherman. His dad is Antioch coach Brad Rubin, the only coach in Illinois history to medal in bass fishing with teams from two schools (Zion-Benton and Antioch).Both anglers are good students. Rubin had just been inducted into the National Honor Society when I talked with him Sunday. Schmidt takes advanced-placement and honors classes and is carrying a 4.2 grade-point average.They are different as fishermen.As befits the son of a former charter captain, Schmidt favors salmon and trout fishing. Like his dad, he’s serious about fly-fishing. His dad builds rods. Schmidt built a 5-weight fly rod, which, he said, ‘‘I use it on the Fox River for smallmouth bass.’’As for college, Schmidt said, ‘‘I’m planning on playing baseball in college. I would like to do bass fishing in college, but I will fish anyway.’’Rubin is a bass guy.‘‘I love throwing ChatterBaits,’’ Rubin said. ‘‘But my favorite is frog-fishing. The blow-up is pretty awesome.’’He’s got that right.‘‘So my grandparents live in Texas,’’ Rubin said of his most memorable fish. ‘‘There are nice ponds around where they live. There is a 20-foot-high wall around this one pond. I hooked a 4- or 5-pound bass, then fought it for five or 10 minutes and had to find a spot to land it.’’Naturally, Big Texas Pond Bass" is on his YouTube channel, ZBRFishing, where he started posting during COVID.Chicago River DayFriends of the Chicago River will hold its massive cleanup and restoration day (more than 2,000 volunteers) from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 11. Registration is required at chicagoriver.org/get-involved/volunteer/chicago-river-day.Stray castChicago baseball is like a pop-up storm: It depends where you are.

Crime scene tape. | Sun-Times fileSun-Times file Three businesses were held up by armed robbers in a half-hour time span Tuesday night in Bucktown, Back of the Yards and Pilsen, police said.The robberies followed a similar pattern: Three men entered the businesses with handguns and demanded property from employees or customers inside, according to Chicago police.The first heist happened in the 1800 block of West 47th Street in the Back of the Yards around 9:50 p.m. The gunmen demanded property from employees, stole money from the cash register and fled the scene, police said.Around 20 minutes later, a business in the 1100 block of West 18th Street in Pilsen was targeted in a similar way. Three gunmen demanded property from employees and customers inside the business, and struck one of the employees in the head with a handgun, police said. The employee declined medical attention, and the robbers escaped. Around 10:20 p.m., three men entered a business in the 2000 block of North Damen Avenue in Bucktown, demanded property and took money from the cash register before leaving, police said.No one is in custody from any of the robberies, and detectives are investigating.

The commentators discussing Black Twitter on the Hulu documentary include cultural critic Van Lathan (from left), comedian W. Kamau Bell and journalist Jemele Hill.Getty Images “In the same way that we took scraps and leftovers and made soul food, and in the same way that we took our lamentations and made gospel music, we took … Twitter and we made it a storytelling forum.” –Journalist and professor Dr. Meredith Clark in “Black Twitter: A People’s History.”Even before director Prentice Penny’s three-part Hulu documentary series “Black Twitter: A People’s History” makes its debut, some commenters on Black Twitter have been questioning the purpose of a documentary about Black Twitter — and then there's commentary about that.As Angelina Velasquez noted in an article for Revolt, one @Virtuous14 tweeted, “Black Twitter arguing over whether that Black Twitter documentary is gonna include all the right people and topics is the most Black Twitter thing ever,” while director Penny (the showrunner for “Insecure” and a veteran sitcom writer) chimed in with, “I’d like to think after 20 years after holding the culture down, y’all would trust I got #blacktwitterhulu best interest in mind. But lowkey, I also love Black Twitter mad hesitant and petty 'bout it, too! LOL!” 'Black Twitter: A People's History' A three-part documentary available Thursday on Hulu. Something tells me that once “Black Twitter: A People’s History” premieres on Thursday, we’re going to see a whole new round of comments on Black Twitter — and those comments will be as insightful and hilarious and thought-provoking as the series itself, which is based on a Wired magazine article by Jason Parham titled “A People’s History of Black Twitter.”Couple things here. Yes, Twitter is now officially known as “X,” but none of the myriad journalists, influencers, TV personalities, comedians, scholars, etc., interviewed for the series are calling it “X.” Also, Black Twitter is not an official organization, or a URL, or an app, or some kind of Twitter subgroup. It’s an organically created community consisting of the famous, the semi-famous and (perhaps most important) “ordinary” people who are actually quite extraordinary, all using the platform to create memes and movements, to crack jokes and to crack down on intolerance, to be there for one another.Director Penny and his team skillfully blend dozens of interviews with a treasure trove of archival footage and some perfectly placed clips from TV shows and movies to create a fascinating document of Black Twitter, which continues to evolve, adapt and adjust with the times. Most documentaries look back at events, whether recent or in the distant past; “Black Twitter” is a historical record but also a mirror to present times. With a host of brilliant and witty interviewees including comedian and director Kamau Bell, former Obama administration official Brad Jenkins, cultural critic Van Lathan, author and journalist Jemele Hill, creative consultant April Reign, researcher and scholar Shamika Klassen and many, many others providing commentary and context along the way, “Black Twitter” starts with a look back at the early years of Twitter and the creations of hashtags such as #YouKnowYoureBlackWhen, e.g, “You know you’re Black when you can go to a cookout late and still be early,” and, “You’re know you’re Black when NOBODY is allowed into the living room.”As Black Twitter gained momentum, white people such as your friendly neighborhood critic looked on with interest; as Parham hilariously notes, “White folks talk about Black Twitter likes it’s Wakanda.” He’s not wrong.We’re reminded of how a heated debate about Kobe Bryant led to the famous slogan, “Meet me in Temecula,” how the TV show “Scandal” blew up on Twitter and led to thousands of clever Tweets, and how the Twitter user Zola became famous and inspired a movie with her legendary, 148-tweet thread about a wild road trip. Meanwhile, celebrities such as Kevin Durant, Snoop Dogg and Questlove would engage with fans on Twitter, giving Black Twitter a real sense of a shared community, a virtual neighborhood where all had a voice. A’Ziah “Zola” King (left), writer of a road-trip narrative that became a Black Twitter sensation, poses at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival with Taylour Paige, who played her in a movie about the adventure. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Episodes 2 and 3 take on a more serious tone, as Twitter becomes an important platform for calling out the “Karens” of the world, and the launching point for movements, including #BlackLivesMatter, a hashtag that was created on Facebook following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin and accelerated on Twitter in August of 2014 after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and the #OscarsSoWhite movement.We’re also reminded that even in the most tragic and heartbreaking of times, as with the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Twitter can be a place not only for comfort but for fantastic (and comforting) comedic discourse. Even the Jan. 6 insurrection spawned some hilarious commentary, and a hashtag noting the race of the vast majority of protesters: #ComeGetYourWhiteCousin.With Elon Musk now owning “X” and one of the most important presidential elections in our country’s history just months away, Black Twitter continues to be a vital voice. Not that it’s one big collective voice, of course; that’s the point, and that’s what makes it so great.

Chairs outside Am Shalom synagogue in Glencoe, with photos of hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7 by Hamas.Provided In the days following the horrific attack on Israel in the early hours of Oct. 7, when 1,200 people were brutally murdered by Hamas and more than 230 individuals were taken hostage from their homes and from the Nova Music Festival, we felt helpless. Posters were hung with the names and faces of those who were stolen, only to be torn down. A ground invasion of Gaza was getting underway and protests began. There was so much noise, which made the silence about the hostages deafening.A few weeks after Oct. 7, I walked into our weekly staff meeting with an idea inspired by the long Shabbat table set just outside of the Tel Aviv Art Museum, a stark reminder that our own tables were not complete. That brisk afternoon, our staff placed 248 chairs at the corner of Vernon and Greenwood, outside Am Shalom synagogue, to keep the hostages front and center. We set the chairs up in rows and affixed a hostage poster to each one. In the process, we created a temporary outdoor sanctuary nearly the same size as the one inside the synagogue. Opinion bug Opinion The white chairs have become our community. A family drove by the very first day and offered to put a stuffed animal on each chair, like the stuffed animals that filled the fountain area on Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv in the early days of the war. People from the community gathered. It became a sacred spot.For a few days last November, with relief and joy, we tied blue and white ribbons around almost 100 chairs and moved them to the front, representing the released hostages. Too many others, those confirmed dead or murdered while in captivity, were brought to the flagpole. The remaining 133 chairs continue on as a community, filled with our prayers and our hopes.‘They are not forgotten’Fall turned to winter and now spring and the chairs are still there, day in and day out. Grass grows wildly underneath the legs. The bitter cold and the rain have warped the wood and made the cushions soggy. Still, we continue to witness some truly amazing moments. Nearly every day, neighborhood children and families stop by to pick up the stuffed animals that fell off the chairs overnight. They watch over the area, making sure it remains clean. Strangers stop by to take pictures and to walk among the chairs to read the names. I’ve met Israelis who stood there in tears, taking photos to text back to their family members. Local pastors come to offer prayers. Government officials take pictures. Last week, I met a new mom who was walking through to pick out a Hebrew name for her new baby, wanting to name her after one of the hostages. Early in the morning after the video of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin was released, I found a Chicago Bulls hat on Hersh’s chair that simply said 'SURVIVE WE LOVE YOU.'On all three of our congregational missions to Israel since Oct. 7, we have been able to show individual hostage families, who think that the world has forgotten about their loved ones, that we in Chicago are still praying, and hoping and working for their release. They are not forgotten. These are not just chairs with pictures and posters. They are Shani’s cousin Yagev Buchshtav; Itzik’s two sons, Aitan and Iair Horn; Liora’s daughter Noa Argamani; Aviva Siegel, who was a hostage herself, and her husband Keith Siegel; and so many more real people with real stories.They are not political pawns. They are human beings who must be reunited with their families.We know that we can never use these chairs again. They don't belong to us anymore. They belong to the community. These chairs, and this area where they sit, belong to the hostages. Through the chaos of the last 209 days it can be easy to forget that their lives hang in the balance and their families are living in a perpetual state of anguish. Time is running out for all of them. Our 248 chairs will stay up as long as they have to. It is our way to say to the world: We haven’t forgotten you. We never will.Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein is the Senior Rabbi of Am Shalom Congregation in Glencoe.The Sun-Times welcomes letters to the editor and op-eds. See our guidelines.The views and opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chicago Sun-Times or any of its affiliates.

DEAR ABBY: I have been married for the last 25 years to a wonderful man, "Frank." We are very happy in all areas except for intimacy. Frank has lost all interest in intimacy and sex. It began about two years ago, and I have tried everything to reignite the flame in our relationship. Frank's sex drive has disappeared!About a year ago, he told me I should find someone — a friend with benefits — to take care of my sexual needs. At the time I said no, hoping he would be interested again. Now, after a year of waiting, I am seriously considering finding a "friend."Do you think I should follow through with it, or keep waiting and hoping Frank will change? Have you any advice about how to restart the intimacy in our relationship? — EXTINGUISHED IN VIRGINIADEAR EXTINGUISHED: You and your husband need to have another serious talk about this. He should also talk to his doctor and ask for a referral to a urologist and an endocrinologist, who may be able to help. The inability to achieve an erection occurs in some men around age 50 and even younger, which is why Viagra is such a popular drug. If your husband is willing to discuss this with a medical professional, it may be the solution to his (and your) problem.DEAR ABBY: I met a co-worker about a year ago and we started dating. He had been clean and sober from alcohol for more than 10 years. We got along very well, but he is drinking again, and his behavior has changed — there are mood swings, bouts of jealousy and finger-pointing.When he drinks, it's unpleasant, and the smell seeping from his pores is nauseating. He finds almost any reason to have a drink. When I try to talk to him about it, he says he does nothing wrong and he drinks because he wants to, or some other reason that makes no sense. I'm tired of the excuses. Then he begs for forgiveness or accuses me of not wanting him around.I have told him he needs to work on himself and get back into the program, and he says all he can do is take one day at a time. He drinks and drives, which poses a danger to himself and others. He's jealous of my ex and my grown children. He plays the victim, and his answers to questions are, "I don't remember," "I didn't do anything," or "I don't know what you're talking about." I'm at my wits' end and can't take any more. Please help. — TOXIC RELATIONSHIPDEAR TOXIC: Draw the line. Remind your co-worker that when you started dating him, he was on the wagon. Tell him that when he drinks his personality changes, and you do not like the person he becomes. You need to educate yourself about alcoholism, and an effective way to do that would be to join Al-Anon and attend some meetings.If you really "can't take any more," stop dating him! And, if it creates problems where you work, inform your boss or supervisor. I'm sure that because of the potential liability, your employer won't be thrilled about having a drunk for an employee.Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds), to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)