I love Oak Park, but sometimes I think we’re a little too PC.  That’s why I laughed at a bumper sticker I saw the other day, “honk if you love peace and quiet.”

My next door neighbors could use a little help in the peace/quiet front.  They have parties in the back yard all summer long, and while we’re friends with them, we get no relief.  I never felt comfortable going out in the back just to read a book in the sunshine. And I’m sure they don’t want to see me in my swim suit.  So I looked into getting a wood fence, about five feet high.  It was $900, and I didn’t have much extra cash lying around.  So I heard you could borrow money from your car, sorta, with a car title loan.

I went online and sure enough, I found Oak Park Title Loans, a great place for car title loans.  You don’t have to go to some scary store in the city, you just take ten minutes to fill out the application.  The money is available in a day or two, depending on how you do it. So I was able to put up that fence before the next weekend, when the next party was held.  I get my privacy, they get their party without having to look at me – that’s worth honking a horn.

Oak Park is also near River forest, Elmwood Park, Maywood, River Grove, and Berwyn

I knew when I married my wife she’s not much of a cook. She told me she couldn’t make Jello because she copuldn’t figure out how to get two cups of water into the little packages. Yeah, she’s a blonde.

So I decided I would be the cook. And I didn’t want to be an ordinary cook. I wanted to be a master chef, able to make amazing things like I see on the Food Network. So I went out and bought a $2300 oven-range, $1600 refrigerator, $4000 worth of top line cookware, a blender/food processor, and a complete selection of more than 80 spices and herbs. It all set me back more than $8000.

And I’m using it. More now than ever — because I lost my job and have time at home to really work on making great food. The problem is I’m still paying for a lot of this great kitchen with a major loss of income. How do I keep the repo man at bay?

I went to Berwyn Title Loans, a car title loan company that valued my Saab at more than $14,000. It’s pretty easy to do, all online, approved in an hour, money in a day – real fast cash. I didn’t need that much, but it’s just enough to avoid racking up late fees on my credit cards while I wait on some new job opportunities. It’s a great back up. And at the end of the day, I’d rather be eating a fine fusion of French and Thai vegetables than bad Jello.

By the way Berwyn  is near Cicero, Lyons, Forest Park, Maywood, and River Forest.